The quiet in the library these days is reserved for the reading rooms. In the library business world, there is anything but silence.
Whether they are public, corporate or institutional facilities, libraries are witnessing wide-scale change as they move from a physical function as a knowledge warehouse to providing information management systems in the digital cloud.
This week, a pair of announcement from leading library service vendors makes the point that libraries are big business.
“3M revealed that it is selling its North American and global libraries businesses to Bibliotheca, a European start-up backed by a division of JP Morgan Chase. The deal is for all of 3M’s library businesses, which includes security, and productivity solutions,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
“In a second big deal, ProQuest said that it has signed an agreement to acquire Ex Libris Group, a leading global provider of library automation solutions, catalogs, and so forth,” he tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “ProQuest officials say the move will help to advance work on its workflow solutions for print, electronic and digital resources, as well as navigation of complex and rapidly changing technology, content and user environments.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.